1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the billiards. More particularly, the invention relates to an improvement in spotting a rack for billiards.
2. Related Art
Billiards requires the use of a table, set of billiard balls, cue ball, cue sticks, rack and bridge. Due to the competitive nature of the game of billiards, it is desired to have a repeatable and precise location of an initial rack. This precludes an unfair advantage for a player.
There is a need for providing a repeatable and precise initial rack for a billiard game. A typical billiard table includes a spot mark physically placed on the top surface of the playing table to identify the location of the placement of an initial rack. This mark is intended to coincide with the location of a lead ball inside the rack with the other playing balls disposed behind the lead ball within the rack.
The lead ball is placed on top of this spot mark and a remainder of the balls in the rack are positioned with respect to the placed lead ball by using the rack. The player making this initial break must do so with the cue ball located in a permitted area and without crossing a line, usually an imaginary line, on the playing surface during the break procedure. Once the balls are set, the rack is removed and the game is begun by placing a cue ball in the permitted area and driving the cue ball into the set balls using a cue.
The use of the existing spot mark on the playing surface and imaginary lines has proved to be an inadequate method of assuring a repeatable rack. The lead ball is typically not placed in the exact same point on the spot each time. Further, the rack may be slightly angled with respect to a proper alignment of the rack. As a result, the rack will affect the play of the balls upon the break of the balls. This is an undesirable result, particularly in competitive tournaments. The spot mark on the playing surface may affect the aesthetics of the playing surface and give some players an advantage in lining up a shot.
By providing a conventional spot mark on the table surface, the playing surface may tend to wear more at one end of the playing surface where the rack is always positioned. It is desirable to alternate play at both ends without there being any physical spot on the playing surface of the table.
There is a need for an improved racking system for a billiard game that does not require the use of a spot mark placed on or incorporated into the top playing surface of the billiard table. There is a need for a racking system which provides for an accurate and a repeatable rack of the billiard balls on the surface of a billiard table which aligns the rack as well as provides a temporary visual line onto the surface behind which the cue ball is disposed for purposes of an initial break.